St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-16
A Feud the Origin of $4,000 Damage
Suit-A Heavy Suit Against the
Milwaukee.
Serious Charge Against a Real Estate
Dealer Oeroskv's Settle
ment Day.
The Druggists Decide They Have n
Right TO Sell Liquor on Pre-
scrtpttons.
THE RAJ LINE.
An Energetic Effort Being Made in
ats Behalf.

the Seventh and Eighth wards, yesterday
afternoon, to urge the granting of fran
chiSe giving the Minneapolis West Side
Street Railway company the right to lay
and maintain line running from the river
to Lake Calhoun. 1t will be remembered
that last fall petition signed by some five
hundred citizens asking that the franchise
be granted was submitted, which was re-
TERED TO the joint committee. After
good deal of delay and discussion the
committee presented majority report adj
verse TO the petition. The matter was then
referred back to the committee and again
opened up. 1t then devolved upon the del
egatlon Of SouthsiderS yesterday to disprove
the assertion made in the majority report:
THAT the line is not required by public ne
ce>sity." The delegation was evidently
imbued with this idea. and was quite equal
to the emergency. The general aspect
was that of fierce determination and their
speeches were vigorous and aggressive.
Aid. Dwyer started the ball by an emphatic
denuncation Of the policy Of the council
to encourage and n0uriSh monopolieS. He
said that the working people needed the
line ana were opposed to exclusive fran
chiSeS. F. c. Griswold. William Adams,
Judge Ellis were equally vehement i'll de-
handing that the new company should be
given an opportunity to do business and
denied that the line was not needed, claim
ing that the facilities for transportation
furnished by the Minneapolis Street Rail-
way company in the suburban districts
nave been unsatisfactory and inadequate.
Randolph Burgess. who organized the
new company, made quite a lengthy ad-
dress, i'll which he gave the assurance that
his proposition 10 build and maintain the
line is a bona tide one and backed up by
funds to carry out the agreement. He
asked only that the council! should not
interfere. and as to the legal questions in
yolved. he was willing to abide by the de-
ciSion Of the courts.
Aid. E. NJ. johnson asked numerous
questions of the speakers. subjected them
to a rigid cross examination that indicated
quite plainly his antagonism to the new
line. John Lally made some exceedingly
pointed remarks that were directed at
Thomas Lowry, the president of the Mime
apolis Street Car company, who sat quietly
listening with patient air. Mr.. Lally did
not believe in fostering railroads, and re-
called the time when the city bonded itself
for 81, 500, 600 to help the Minneapolis &
st. Louis and then gave the franchise to W.
D. Washburn, who sold it to other parties.
Aid. johnson said to Mr.. Burgess:
1T we grant franchises to Tom, Dick and
Wuerc Will luis dli Gnu! Inc street car
lines, like certain railroads, will be in the
hands of a receiver
Mr.. Burgess replied by insinuating that
the aldermen acted as though he were
hired attorney of Lowry's. The petition
for the line came from the people, and was
backed by bonds.
President Thomas Lowry at this point
spoke briefly in reply. A rough and-tum-
BILE fight. he remarked, was hard on a
mans clothes. He did not care about any
litigation. He only wanted the council to
consider the question fairly and do the best
thing for the city. He did not want the al
dermeE, however, to nurture Burgess
and his scheme. and then, if he
failed, to expect the Minneapolis street
railway company to carry out the line. He
felt bound TO make all extensions whenever
called upon by the council. If that body
saw tit to limit his company to the territory
included in the original franchise, all right.
If it is decided to include the outside terri
tory as well he was willing to guarantee
that the councils desire would be carried
out. He called attention to the
fact that in Boston, where there
have been several rival street car COM
.panes, unsatisfactory service has been
given to the public, resulting in a CONSOLE
dation of all lines, and depressed to refer to
a statement in regard to bonuses that had
been offered. When the Cedar avenue line
was built he had offered to return all
bonuses in order that the line might
be abandoned and transferred to
Bloomington avenue, where it
would accommodate more people. The
offer had been refused. and as a result he
had built and operated both lines.
Aid. johnson wanted to know whether in
the the event of litigation Mr.. Lowry
would make extensions in that territory if
called upon, and Mr.. Lowry responded by
saying that he could hardly be expected to
make extensions in territory which was not
granted him.
Mr.. Burgess began to say in reply that he
was pleased to know that Mr.. Lowry
wanted no litigation, when Mr.. Lowry
cut him off by saying that he did not
refer to Mr. Burgess or to any one else
individually. He would deal only with
the city, and was glad to leave it to the
committee as to what should be done.
Aid. Johnson again expressed his opin-
ion that if the franchise was granted tile
Minneapolis Street Railway company could
not be held to make extensions when called
upon as now. Mr. Burgess made another
appeal for the right Of competition.
John I. ByrneS. as attorney for the new
company, wound up the conference with
red hot speech. saying tn; t the proposition
before the committee was SIM
ply to build and maintain line
outside of territory included in the fran-
chise granted Thomas Lowry. The ee-
mentary principle of a contract was that it
could not include any right or property
which the first party could not convey.
Therefore the city council could not in
clnde in the franchise to Lowry any
territory that was not included in the
city limits when the franchise was
granted. Every time Mr.. Lowry had been
ordered to make an extension outside of the
original district new franchise had been
granted him. In reply to Aid. Johnson's
statement that railroads had failed where
franchises had been granted fndiscumiIate-
ly to rival companies. Mr.. Byrnes said
it was because they failed to pay dividends
on watered stock. For instance. one of
the Steele heirs had held 81, 800
of stock in the Minneapolis d
St. Lois Railroad company-W. d. Wash
burn had watered this amount to S33, 600
OF course the company went into the hands
of a receiver. He had heard that the
council was back of Thomas Lowry in his
schemes, but didn't believe it, as he thought
of the city. 1t was a scheme that
Thomas Lowry with his ten millions
of money had required bonuses to induce
him to build lines in the streets of the city
that had granted him the franchise that had
made his fortune. sit is a shame" he
said. THAT petition signed by 500 citizens
should be disregarded Sometime l hope
to God we will get council that will re-
gard the rights of citizens"
Aid. Johnson-Hear! heari
Mr. Byrnes-.l mean when petitions from